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| Hiking | 7.20 Miles |
1,493 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.20 Miles | 7 Hrs 33 Mns | | 0.95 mph |
| 1,493 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This was a scenic hike with many lake views ranking right up there with most of the Eastern Sierra day hikes I've done over the past 8 years. This one had been near the bottom of my To-Do list because I thought it would be over crowded and getting a campsite might be difficult because of its popularity. However I discovered that there are "first-come first-serve overflow campsites" along FS139 on Virginia Creek that are called Upper and Lower Virginia Creek Primitive Campgrounds, also referred to as overflow campgrounds with both RV and tent campsites. They're a step above dispersed campgrounds with a host at each, well kept outhouses, bear boxes, and metal fire rings but no tables and no drinking water, and they're free. There are separate entrances on FS139 along the Virginia Lakes Road for the two campground because of a long-ago bridge washout on FS139.
I visited the trailhead at the parking lot on Big Valley Lake in the afternoon the day before my hike, Sunday, and found it very busy with families fishing with their kids along the shore and the parking lot nearly full. Arriving the next morning, Monday, for my hike at 8:00am there were no people and the parking lot was about 3/4 empty. The hike started out in near solitude for most of the morning but due to my slowness at high altitude about 8 hikers ended up passing me near noon as I approached 11000ft.
In summary, a beautiful hike peaking out at 11120ft elev but of modest length at about 7 miles to give a good cardio workout. If you want more you could always extend the hike to Summit Lake to add another 1000ft AEG on the way back. |
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